Changes
by shiftingshadows963
Summary: It was dark and cold, but no one cared, not for him. They were probably thankful honestly. The chemical took effect, setting his scales on fire, drawing hoarse screams from his swollen throat. They watched until he stopped, heart slowing to a crawl before that too stopped. Calmly they dragged his changed body to the water and dumped him, having no hope he would live. Now to report.
1. Chapter 1

I don't own any of the Batman things, if I did I wouldn't be worried about college. Wish I did, I love croc. I only own Laura, in all her panicky glory, and an old flute. This is going to be a work in progress, if you're even reading this, which you're most likely not. I don't have a beta! Sorry…

Summary: it was dark and cold, but no one cared, not for him. They were probably thankful honestly. The chemical took effect, setting his scales on fire, drawing hoarse screams from his swollen throat. They watched until he stopped, heart slowing to a crawl before that too stopped. Calmly they dragged his changed body to the water and dumped him, having no hope he would live. They had what they needed, they didn't need his body. Now to report the experiment as a success.

Chapter one, drowning in fire

Burning, everything was burned. Fire creaked through veins and cooked through organs. Eyes wide to the pain and gasping for breath. Invisible flames raced across shifting skin, leaving agony in its path. There wasn't enough AIR! Claws raked his chest, trying to force still ribs to expand farther than they were. His brain was numb, fighting through the pain. Slowly everything seemed to fall before his eyes, before slamming into icy cold water, denying him his breath. The cold shoved the fever down but posed new problems. Limbs tingled in the slush refusing to work, while his lungs fought him. Golden eyes eased open, watching the darkness swirl around him. He was dying, drowning in ice.

Sudden raged raced through his thoughts, screaming, urging him to fight, to live, denying him the peace of Death. Anger _, how_ _ **DARE**_ _he give up_! Tingling turned to burning as he clawed his way out of ice and water and onto biting streets. His ears rung, picking up yells and pleading, begging. With shaking legs he stumbled over grabbing rotting walls to steady himself. Muffled cries screeched and he took off, bare skin glistening in the stinging winds. He gritted his teeth against the cold, wondering why straight teeth fitting perfectly felt so wrong.

He finally reached the voices and he took in the scene before him. Two masked men held a panicked woman against the wall while a third searched her purse. Taking in the ripped shirt he growled, alerting the men to his presence. They released their burdens and rounded on him in the shadows. One by one the slowed to a halt, taking in his height. They couldn't even flinch before one meaty arm slammed into their side, sending two of them into the wall harder then he meant to. Two went down while the third ran. _Give chase! Devour! Destroy!_ He frowned at himself and turned away from the man and towards the girl. She was lying in a heap of tears and snot, slowly grabbing her overturned purse. Green eyes glanced up at his approach, squinting into the dark. Could she not see him? It wasn't that dark was it? His frown deepened and he shuddered.

"Batman?" the name drove unexpected anger through him and he growled. _KILL kill kill kill KilL KILL!_ He shook his head dispelling the disturbing thoughts. She edged closer trying to see him.

A sudden breeze burned him and he shuddered, reminded of his nudity. His arms shook, iced over from his earlier plunge. A loud pop split his ears and struck his back, driving him to his knees. Dimly aware of the startled screaming, he turned his thick neck to see a fourth masked man make a run for it, throwing away his gun as he did so. Ice cut into his cheek, drawing a grunt from numb lips. _GeT uP!_ When had he decide to lay down? Gold eyes closed, tired, so very tired. He smelled blood. _MoVE!_ Not this time. Limbs tingled from the cold but he was too tired to care.

Laura shifted uncomfortably, worry clenching in her gut. This was a bad idea, a stupid idea. And her unhelpful neighbor helped her with it. _I bet he was drunk._ That was probably the only reason he helped. She giggled. Oh she needed sleep so bad, but now there was a bald giant in her bed taking up space she didn't have. Giggling harder she gently ran a warm cloth over his head, before tucking the covers in more. She was delusional, there was no way some naked man came to her rescue covered in ice. There was simply too much for a sleep deprived med student. If it wasn't for the scrapes on her back she would have not believed any of this was real.

He let out a snore causing another round of hysterical laughter. Tears rolled down her cheeks before she caught herself. Not the time for crying, that was for when she was alone. Her hands shook violently, feeling the last of the adrenaline leave her system. Trying and failing to brush back her hair she stood up and reached to clean up. _Need to clean the sewing needle._ She picked up the bloody string, watching as the needle swayed. Extra bandages went up and finally the little ball of metal she pulled from her savoir. To think such a small thing could kill so many.

That man had been lucky, normally a wound like that would have killed in minutes. Instead it had barely entered his skin, making for easy removal. Probably going to be sore as fuck tomorrow though, nothing she could fix with that. The only way she could think for the bullet to not harm him much was because there was so much of him. He was like a walking mountain.

Another snore broke her from her thoughts drawing her attention. At least her neighbor had some pants that fit the guy's waist. She might have had to cut the legs of them so he could bend his knees though. And they barely reached his calf, but he was no longer naked! That was the important thing here. She felt her cheeks redden at the reminder. He was h-No! Not going there.

Laura glanced at the clock to see when to wake him up. You can never be too sure with head wounds. Darn, only a few minutes left, then it was time to wake the sleeping giant and hope he didn't kill her. She wasn't worried about robbery, she had nothing worth stealing. She sighed and tugged at her hair, watching the red strands reflect the light. This was a bad idea, a horrible idea. She didn't really see any way this would end well. Not to mention that he was probably some kind of sex fiend, what with him running around naked. And he was wet. Maybe he liked taking mid-winter swims? Or was a suicidal man. She deflated and moved to wake him. With one hand on his covered shoulder she peered at his face and shook him. He grumbled. Narrowed eyes took in his sharp features and shook harder. Gold eyes popped open and she screamed, scrambling backwards from the man. He raised up on shaky arms, pain visible on his face.

He groaned and held his head in his meaty hands, shivering lightly. What an odd eye color, it was kind of pretty. Oh she needed more sleep, so much sleep. He glanced up at her with unfocused eyes, clearly disoriented. Oh God he was huge, even sitting on her bed he was taller than her. He looked pitiful, which shouldn't be possible with him being so big.

"Wh-what?" he shook harder, drawing her nearer with her warm cloth in hand. She shushed him and pushed lightly on his broad shoulders, which was almost triple her body length. It was scary as hell, but he listened and laid back down. After re-tucking in his covers she placed the cloth on his head and spoke softly. "You've been in an accident, just stay calm or you'll rip your stiches. Now can you tell me your name?" He stared without comprehending, gold eyes unwavering. She fidgeted under his gaze, unused to the attention.

He stared deep into her eyes, not saying a word, gold meeting green. Laura squirmed, drawing a chuckle from him. Suddenly he paled, looking sickly. She panicked, thinking something was badly wrong. Then he puked. On her bed. Letting out a groan he laid back down, falling asleep instantly. Now it was her turn to groan, already moving to grab her bucket and gloves. This is what she gets for letting some man into her house, even though he saved her not even two hours ago. There went her weekend.


	2. Chapter 2

Shadow; Wow I have a review and a follower. Who knew? I forgot to say that this was my first story, still going to keep going and if you have an idea tell me. I'm basing croc when he's scaly off of origins design, because he looked awesome. I'm supposed to be writing a paper for college English right now, so...yea. Still don't own anything.

Chapter 2, mind over memory.

She narrowed her eyes at him, watching him devour the cheap pizza. Green eyes glanced down to her small slice and to his 'plate'. Which was not a plate at all but the whole box. Kind of looked like a plate in his hands though. If she wasn't so hungry she would have been disgusted. It was more like grease and cheese than pizza but it's not like she had anything in the fridge. She still wasn't sure if she believed his story, it was awfully convenient to just forget everything. Especially in this town.

Lightning quick she slapped his hand that had been edging towards his bandages. Laura didn't care if they itched, wounds like those could get infected and then he would be back at square one. She had to sew them up twice already because of wondering hands. It didn't help that he looked like he was missing about half a foot of skin from whatever got his chest. Looked like he got in a fist fight with a mountain lion. Anything was possible here, and if it wasn't for the college she would move far far away and never look back. This place was a demolition zone with all those insane goons planting bombs every other week. She needed to look into better schools, even if she couldn't afford-

"Got any more?" she gaped, looking at the empty box and back to her empty plate. The creep stole her pizza, and judging by his smirk he knew it. Scowling she edged back around the table, away from him and his giant sneaky hands. She hadn't gotten a single bite!

"You stole my food! And now you want more? NO and stop scratching!" He looked scandalized at her, shaking the hand she just slapped. Amusement shone in his odd eyes, even as his shoulders tensed, clearly not intimidated by her as she stamped her foot and moved to the phone. He stretched his back wincing when his stiches pulled. Good he deserved it. She didn't care that he got hurt saving her, nope didn't care. Not at all. He left the table, chuckling as he made his way to the beat up couch. It wasn't like she could afford a better one. Not if she was buying another pizza, the asshole. She glared at his retreating back, noticing the paleness. Looks like he lost more blood than she thought, better make the pizza a meat lovers.

Punching in the number she contemplated what she was going to do with the man, if what he said was true, which she doubted. Did he even have a home? Was he homeless? Did he even have any clothes or was he living in a dumpster, and judging by the smell he did. So some homeless poor guy saved her out of the goodness of his sarcastic heart. She placed a hand over her chest, pity growing with every thought. Poor guy. What was she going to do with him? She couldn't just force him out after those thoughts, but she didn't have much money or room. Could she even take care of him on her budget? She frowned and glanced back at him, pity morphing into a glare as he scratched his chest over the bandages.

Soon the overly cheerful tone of some girl answered the phone, which she promptly winched. That had to be fake, no way was it real. Stating the order she hung up and got ready, not wanting the pizza guys to get the wrong idea by delivering to the same place twice. She needed the exercise anyway, _yea right. What I need is a nap._ Grabbing her ratty coat she slapped the poor guys hand once more and left, hoping he didn't try to steal anything like the couch or the broken TV… or the bed. Not like she had much and most of what she did you needed a truck leave with. Besides he could barely move without being in pain.

Not for the first time she wondered about his name, and if she should give him one. Was that rude? Should she just pick something like naming a new pet or ask him what he preferred. The insane image of him begging with a leash to go outside slipped into her mind and she giggled madly. People eyed her suspiciously from the streets she walked through, unnerved. Not that she could blame them, usually the people that laughed randomly were like Joker or some other mad man. She cut off her laughter and walked faster. When was the last time she slept? It had to be awhile what with finals around the corner. Then she was free to intern for a few more years. She groaned, and walked faster. The sooner she got the food the sooner she could study and play nurse to a big bald man.

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It was cold, not as much as outside, but still cold. He eyed the frilly pink thing that dared call itself a blanket with disgust, refusing the warmth it promised. No matter how cold it was he wasn't going for what the girl gave him. Tension had eased from his shoulders as soon as she left, thankful for the solitude. He was glad she helped him, but her touchiness frustrated him. No matter what reason she gave he felt so wrong at her touch. He was good at covering it he thought, but he still tensed when she was near, as if expecting pain or betrayal. His hand was red already from her 'care'. It didn't help that she was always watching, sneaking around corners to watch as if he was a common thief, which he might be for all he knew.

He twitched when a car alarm went off, and frowned. He clenched his fists, watching as the pale skin stretched over his muscles. It looked wrong, not his skin, no matter how it moved with him. Was this what it was like to lose your memories? Feeling like a stranger in your very flesh. He was refusing to look in the mirror, afraid of what he might see. _A monster, an ANIMAL._ Why? Was he deformed? Curious he felt his face, the feeling of wrongness growing even as he encountered smooth skin. It wasn't HIS face, he just knew it but that made no sense. Drawing away from his hand he looked over to the broken window, taped up to keep the heat in. Not that it did much good. It still was cold.

He didn't like it here, it was too small not enough room. But at the same time HE was too small, steps not getting him where they should. It didn't make sense. Hands moved to his neck, feeling the flesh free and un-collared, which was strange. Why did he think he should be chained? What had he done to make that necessary?

 _He rubbed his throat, growling when claws encountered metal. Tugging didn't work, only shocked him. It ITCHED! Claws scratched the base of his neck, stretching higher, just barely out of reach of the itch. Suddenly he heard the sound he had been waiting on and he stepped into the cloudy water, swimming to the door, hoping to find some young sap stupid enough to bring him his food directly. He hid under the water just as the door creaked open, and he exploded up wrenching the door open and rushing through straight at the guard on the other side. His lips pulled back in a smirk, grabbing the small man and wrenching his arm out of his torso, soaking in the screams just as the collar went off. He dropped the man in favor of his collar, spasming in pain. Men swarmed their fallen comrade, leaving one man standing back staring with hate, his hand on the button. He growled and snarled as he slammed into the wall, twitching uncontrollably. Inhuman sounds emerged from his throat, eyes rolling into his skull as the shocks increased._

" _Take him away," Cash spoke, smug to his pain, never once letting up on the button. He gave one last growl before giving into the blackness._

He gasped and grabbed the wall, shaking and sick. He felt rage to his very core, _HOW DARE THEY!_ He had ripped someone's arm off. And he felt pride trying to bubble up, only to be squashed with nausea. That wasn't normal, he wasn't normal. And all the while he could see the man from before watching with satisfaction at his pain. Hands grabbed his throat, phantom pains demanding attention, screaming in outrage. What was that, had that really happened? What kind of monster was he?

Hands that should have been painted red trembled as he stood straight, feeling bile rise in his throat. He stumbled to the bed, shoving the pink blanket off and curled into a ball, feet barely on the mattress. He was so cold, inside he was cold, frozen. Something was wrong with him, he didn't belong here. What had he done?

A door slammed open, drawing a twitch from his hulking form. His ears rang, and he started coughing. Everything was spinning, even with his eyes closed. His lungs burned, and his brow lowered. The burning spread, drawing a rasping gasp. He shook and tried to move only for the fire to immobilize him.

"Hey, uh.. Guy? Where'd you go? I brought more pizza," he tried calling out, only for his voice to fail, he needed help, something was wrong. "Guy? Where are y- Is that blood? Did you open your stiches again! What did I say about-"she froze in the door way, eyes wide with shock and fear. Then she moved. Out came the cloth, this time cold as his fever spiked. He hissed as the cloth reached his forehead, easing the heat. She shushed him, grabbing the bucket beside the door and bringing it over. Why was she helping him again, he did horrible things.

Suddenly a glass of something cold touched his lips, soothing his throat and calming the fire. She shushed him again and pushed two small things into his mouth before replacing the water. He swallowed. Shuddering he looked over at her, seeing concern on her face. She muttered to him, words inaudible before placing the back of a hand on his cheek. Then she frowned, and raced off only to return with a towel soaking wet and cold before laying it on his skin, hoping to bring down the fever.

"Just rest, soon the medicine will kick in it should help. If you feel sick there is a bucket right by the bed and I'll be right here the whole time," her voice was calming, collected, not showing the panic on her face. He was angry at himself for needing her reassurance, hating that he was brought down so low a second time. He swore that next time he wouldn't need anyone's help, especially some girl. He'd make sure of that. Then his eyes closed and his shame washed away to darkness.

Shadow: so what did you think? Hate it? Like it? And there is a plot, we just haven't gotten into it much yet. Next chapter will be soon, maybe?


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three, results

Shadow: well I'm back for now, should be studying or something, but here I am. Thanks for reviewing, it makes me not so freaked out when I update. I'm hoping to get into the main plot soon. Still own nothing.

Laura examined the passed out man, worry worse than ever. She had to bandage his hands this time. Not sure what he did exactly to rip the skin so bad, but it should heal well. It almost looks like he was clawing at something but for the life of her she couldn't figure out what it could be. And she now had a few bloody hand prints on her wall that lead to the bedroom. Some didn't really look like hands, just giant red smudges like he did it on purpose. She frowned.

She hoped it wasn't on purpose. Then he would be hurt in a way she couldn't fix with her medical training. Could he have bitten through his skin? She examined his face, looking for blood around his mouth but found none, just a little where he touched his cheek. Her nose wrinkled. He smelled like a garbage bin. Maybe tomorrow she could get him some clothes that fit and make him bathe. She sniffed, maybe more than once. She was going to have to fix her sheets too. Looks like he somehow ripped it. What was he doing while she was gone?

Green eyes flickered back to the kitchen where the food was, cold by now, but still food. She was hungry still, even after whatever episode he just went through. Next time she left he was coming with her, after his bath. If he was suicidal like she thought he might be she needed to keep an eye on him. If he wasn't she still needed to watch him, after this. How long was she even gone? Ten, fifteen minutes? Maybe twenty. That's a lot of damage for a sort time.

She paused. What was she doing! Thinking long term. As if he would want to stay here anyway. Unless he was homeless. Then he would need a place to stay that's not a garbage bin. It wasn't like they had any homeless shelters in this area. He probably wasn't even from around here what with that accent. Was he French? Cajun? She was betting on Cajun. He probably came here to start a life in one of the busiest cities on earth, only to have his dreams shattered. It must have been awful, him being such a big strong guy only to lose out to some bad luck. What had happened to the poor guy? Did he get sick? How would be have paid for medicine?

What if he was dying? Some slow disease working through his system, killing him off one day at a time. Was it contagious? Could she get it? She needed to research more, right after she studies. There was no way she was taking another year of med. He groaned in his sleep, curling up in a giant mountain sized ball of muscle. He made her poor bed look like a twin sized one instead of a queen. Shaking her head with a grin she headed to the kitchen, stopping when she stepped on something. What was her blanket doing in the floor? Picking it up she looked at the bed. Feeling her patients head for fever, to which he didn't have, she placed it on him lightly. He shivered and curled tighter. She smiled and walked to her pizza, grabbing a few slices and walking back. She said that she wasn't going to leave him so she wasn't.

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It was a mad house in the labs, doctors' rushing back and forth, trying to meet their quota. Dr. Young checked the results, her scientific mind fascinated. Two of her helpers watched her with interest. Looked like they had finally done something right. Beeping and groans came from the machines around her, adding to the chaos. They had a deadline to meet, which was far closer to them meeting the more she read of the paper in her hands.

"Are you saying that this formula reversed the mutations in his genetic code?" They nodded, exited at her pleasure. She was a hard lady to work for. She almost smiled, eyes gleaming with this information. It looked like they did it, solved the problem they had been having. Out of her eye of the test subjects twitched, preparing to ram the walls again. "With this information we could completely revolutionize the world as we know it! We could fix all DNA mutations, recreate extinct species! Now we can fix what's been going wrong! Where is he now, I need study him,"

They looked at each other, fearing the answer they knew to be true.

"He didn't survive the procedures," one of them choked out, once more panicked about her reaction. She looked up, eyes dark. They narrowed to slits before looking at the report once more. He was one of the high risk patients, always in the papers with his rampages through the prisons and asylums. That was going to be hard to cover up as most of his doctors noticed how high his resilience to most of everything. Poisons only made him sick to his stomach. Even bullets barely hurt him. They were more of an annoyance than a threat to him. He was one of the reasons that this medical facility had the funding they needed.

But they could do it.

"Bring me his body. I can still study it. It might be better this way as we can dissect it," she sighed, thoughts of the wonders she would find in his medically fixed body running through her mind. She should be able to find what caused his death in the formula and fix it for the other subjects. Yes, she could make this work, she just had to figure out what to do with the media. They were sure to want to know what happened to him. An evil gleam entered her eye, she had an idea.

What if they didn't even know he was dead? He had never really taken to the treatments, they could say that there was no hope for his mind and that they were going to hold him until more research could be done. They could even throw meat down there to keep up appearances. She placed a finger her chin in thought. They could do that, just make the right excuses and keep going on with the tests. And with his examination this deadline would be easy to make, and then they could continue with more DNA testing based on what they found. She might even get a noble peace prize for this.

"Um… we don't have him anymore?" She looked up at that, confusion morphing into shock. What had they done… what was she going to do now? Panic swirled in her, fear entering her eyes. He was a one in a life time subject, no other would get the same results. She looked them in the eye, making herself clear.

"What did you do with him? And the formula, where is it? Where are the blueprints for it." It wasn't a question, it was a demand. They shuffled lightly, looking anywhere but at her. They knew they made a mistake, one that couldn't be fixed. Even they knew how bad it was by her tone.

"We used it all, but we wrote down how to do it," Their faces colored in shame, "and we dumped him into the harbor." She exploded, anger and fury turning her into one of the patients they claimed to cure. They had ruined everything.

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He woke up in a cocoon of warmth, with just the right amount of aches to say he had been here a while. With a mighty groan he rolled onto his back, stretching his arms over his head. Pops reached his ears, and relaxing his shoulders. When had been the last time he slept like that? It felt like never. With a lazy grin of satisfaction on his face he rolled over onto his stomach, enjoying the chill on his arms and feet. Golden eyes flicked lazily open, taking in his surroundings. They narrowed in on the pink monstrosity currently providing him his warmth. He threw it off, disgust at it increasing even when he shivered in the coldness. He would bet his hide that his caring doctor was at fault for that thing even touching him.

A soft snore startled him out of his thoughts, confused until his eyes landed on the girl. She was dozing on a table chair beside the bed, head resting on the wall. Her fiery hair looked like a nest of knots, just daring anyone to even think of a hairbrush. He chuckled, feeling it odd how his voice seemed to vibrate in his chest. She twitched at his noise, but not coming out of her nap. Without any further thoughts he rose from the bed, only giving a light hiss when his head spun. Sore hands gripped the walls, refusing to reside in the bed any longer.

He saw a door to his right open, revealing a bathroom. Heading over he shut the door behind him. It was smaller than it looked he noticed, barely holding his mass. It didn't take him long to finish his business there, but on the way out he noticed a mirror. His eyes widened at what he saw.

Staring back at him was a tall bald man with a strong chin. His features were sharp for his size, with high cheekbones and arched brows. Eyes of gold and porcelain skin met his scrutiny. It was all wrong, so wrong.

 _He avoided mirrors as a whole, never liking what he saw. So when they took him to a room covered in them he froze. He refused to look, angry eyes on the ground. They couldn't make him look, that was one thing they couldn't take from him. His doctor spoke but he didn't hear, too focused on his anger. How dare they. How_ _ **DARE**_ _they! He roared, swinging thick arms around to strike the guard beside him, shattering a mirror on impact. The doctor screamed and pushed the button she promised not to push. They always lied, always. They would never stop treating him like an animal, never. As he convulsed more men swarmed in, his constant enemy sneering at him. He took his hand long ago and he swore he would take more before he was through with him._

He shuddered from his place on the floor, confused at the memory. Why didn't he like mirrors? What had they been trying to do? Who was Cash? He looked up, feeling a headache from his episode, but it wasn't as bad as before. He could still stand, a bit shaky but it was still standing. With purposeful steps he left the room, refusing his weakness. More questions entered his mind, all that he didn't know.

Soon he was in the small space she called a kitchen, not much bigger than the bathroom. Hard to believe she lived in such a small space. He was starving, even with his dizziness he could eat a horse. That was another thing that confused him. He was always hungry, even after the whole pizza from last night. Giving a shrug he opened the fridge, smirking at the pizza box inside. Looked like he found breakfast. Another snore brought his attention to the bedroom, but not for long. Opening the box he devoured everything cold, too hungry to heat it up. If she kept feeding him he might never leave.

He froze, not liking where his thoughts were going. Should he sneak out? Never come back? Should he wait to tell her? He walked over to the broken window, noticing the signs of snow in the air. He frowned. Maybe he should wait for it to warm up. That seem more reasonable. It was cold inside, he didn't want to know what it was like outside. So it was decided then, once it was warm he would leave. As long as she fed him that was. Couldn't starve to death now could he? He smirked, liking the plan. The only problem was the girl. If she would just leave him alone and stop touching him everything would be perfect.

He rubbed his scalp, bandages pulling on the stubble of his hair beginning to grow. It felt abnormal, and he wondered if he would ever feel at home in his body.

Shadow: So… ? I don't know I'm tired. Sorry. At least the plot has started? Did it make any sense? Is my OC ok?


	4. Chapter 4

Shadow: sorry that I haven't updated sooner, college decided that the tests should all be with in the same week and then to throw even more tests the next week, and it's still not over. I just can't study any more today without screaming. And people are actually reading this! I'm shocked, but what's more shocking is that there are more readers of chapter three then two. Are people skipping number two? Is something wrong with it? Please review so I know what I should do differently or the same?

He stuffed his overgrown hands into the pockets of the jacket he was given, nose wrinkling when he encountered a hole. He didn't know where the girl found them, but sure enough she had ran through the front door holding bags and bags of clothes. Then she forced him to bathe, giving strict instructions about his wounds. Her bossiness was going to be a problem. It has been three days and already he was sick of it, but it's not like he had anywhere to go. Not to mention the cold. Now she went as far as to force him in public, surrounded by _people_. She had a good argument, which was the only reason he came. And so he could pick out his own food. That argument had whet on for hours, resulting in a nighttime trip to the store when he got tired of listening to her.

He growled at the thought, noticing an older woman jump at the noise. She stared at him before paling and backing away. Snorting in amusement he turned to browse the selection of fresh meats. Just the smell had his stomach growling almost as loud as he had earlier. He rubbed his chin, bandaged fingers brushing barely there stubble. He didn't care for that. ' _Where the hell did the girl go'_? He paused at the thought, discreetly looking around for a flash of red hair. That couldn't be good. Gold eyes narrowed, scanning the surroundings. There was no sign of her.

He spun around and came to the realization that he didn't know where he was. Growling he began to stalk the isles, looking left and right for his food provider. Did she ditch him? _'Make her regret it, break her aRMS! RIP them from their sockets.'_ His fist clenched, and he stalked faster. He knew where she lived so she wasn't getting away that easily. He'd track her down, that much he was sure of. With that he pushed open the doors, feeling satisfied when they slammed into the wall, creaking dangerously. He wasn't going to be made a fool of, not again, NEVER again.

 _His breathing sped up, realizing he was lost. Trees and swamp stretched in all directions, the calls of boys laughing in the distance. His breath hitched and he touched callused fingers to his head, feeling his wound. Pulling them back he saw blood. His shoulders shook, what was he going to tell auntie Flowers? He was already late and now he was bleeding. He crouched down, hugging his knees to his chest, hiding his disfigured face against his stained jeans. Would anyone look for him if he didn't come home? He doubted it. Auntie Flowers would only be angry, she didn't like it when people saw him. The teachers would be glad, they didn't like him. Who would the bullies pick on now? Why couldn't they just leave him alone? He didn't try to bother them, he just didn't have a choice! He had to go to school, if he didn't Auntie always got so mad. Last time she threw a bottle at him._

 _He sniffled, wishing he could just disappear. Maybe he could stay here and not go home, learn to live with the alligators. He already looked like one, maybe they would take him in? Gold eyes looked around, searching for the reptiles, only to see two of the boys from before pointing at him from between the trees. They were holding rocks._

 _Hands dug into the ground when he flinched back. Knowing what was going to happen. What had already happened. He briefly touched his bloodied head before scrambling up and running. He didn't know where he was running, just knew he had to get away. They laughed, not bothering to give chase. He tumbled through the bushes, getting mud on his clothes even farther. He had to get away._

 _He didn't know how long he ran, or in which direction, but soon he emerged from the swamp. Sweat dripped from his face, stinging his cuts. His eyes watered when he saw where he was. Home. With shaky steps he walked up to his house, worried about the mess. He didn't need to open the door, his aunt was waiting on him, bottle in hand. She sneered at him, face red from the alcohol. He stepped closer, head down and ready. Lightning quick her arm came out, slapping him. Tears mingled with his sweat._

 _"Get inside now," She spoke through gritted teeth, showing how angry she was. He didn't need to be told twice, or where to go. There was only one place he really was allowed to go to when in trouble. Soon the closet door shut behind him, leaving him in the dark._

He gasped and stumbled, arm going out to grip the wall. _'What was that'_? He shook lightly, feeling the burning return. His back ached, making him hunch over to relive the pain. His other hand came up to rub at his head, searching for the wound he remembered. He frowned when a numbness began to take over instead. With tense muscles he got out of his position to look around. He was in an alleyway, near a sewer grate and some garbage bins. _'Would rather remember killing someone than THAT'_

Suddenly sound flooded his ears, making him notice how everything had been blocked out only a few minutes ago. He heard yelling, familiar yelling. He glanced towards the entrance noticing the small female coming towards him. She had her arms full with bags of food, distracting him from her anger. Suddenly the bags where shoved into his arms, making his stumble to not drop them.

"What the HELL were you doing? You don't just leave me in the grocery store when im buying food so you don't starve! What's wrong with you! You're not even healed yet. Do you WANT to get mugged again?" she shoved against his chest, face flushed red with anger. Then she turned to the side and began trying to push him out of the alleyway and onto the street.

"Stop touching me!" he snapped, his own face flushing. She ignored his comment, marching him forcefully down the sidewalk, muttering under her breath. He only picked up a few words, but the ones he did had him raising his eyebrow at her langue. It didn't take them long to reach her building from there, with her being so insistent.

Growling lightly he dumped the food items on the table, leaving her to put it up. Ignoring the venomous 'jerk' in response he moved to collapse on the bed, once more throwing the pink monstrosity off in a fury. The bed squeaked under his weight, giving a slight groan. He still felt numb, making him worry slightly. Clenching his jaw he flexed his fingers, feeling slight pressure between his knuckles. It itched, like fiberglass under his skin, needing to be freed. He rubbed at the itch, frustration hitting when it did nothing to sooth it.

With narrowed eyes he twisted around until he was sitting up, glaring at his hands. He rubbed harder, needing relief. What was wrong with him, why was this happening to him? A now familiar pain throbbed in his head, warping his vision. His eyes darkened, focused on the pressure. Why wasn't it going away? He could almost imagine the pressure under his kneecaps, making him shift awkwardly. He flinched when dainty hands gripped his, forcing him to stop. Gold eyes glared into concerned green.

"What are you doing? You're going to rub the skin off!" She reached under the bed, not letting go of his hands much to his irritation. Pulling out more bandages she got to work wrapping his knuckles expertly. Jerking his hands out of her he crossed his still numb arms over his chest, angry eyes narrowing. ' _Why is she doing this?'_ She had to have some ulterior motive. She fidgeted under his gaze.

"Look, I'm sorry about earlier, I over reacted a little bit," green eyes glanced up, seeing his flinch at her words. Now it was her turn to frown. All he did was continue glaring. One red brow raised, prompting him to say something, what he didn't know. The minutes seemed to tick by slower than normal, the silence thickening. He opened his mouth, readying words as she perked up.

"Go away," he almost chuckled at her expression, clearly that wasn't what she expected. She gaped openly at him before her face tinted red. Really, it wasn't the most flattering color on her. So he told her so. Green eyes flashed with barely concealed fury as she stood up from her crouched over position.

"UHG! You're such an asshole!" laughter followed her retreat out of the room, infuriating her more. His mood lifted he scratched at his chest, sighing as the numbness retreated.

Shadow: I'm sorry if this one isn't interesting, I'm trying to get into their soon to be forming relationship through annoying each other. It's too soon for the more interesting plot to start, which I almost started in this one but even I felt it was too soon. Please review and tell me how to do better. I don't really like this chapter but I don't what to over edit.


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